Scone, New South Wales facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Scone New South Wales
Mare and foal, Scone
Scone Location in New South Wales
Population	5,624 (2016 census)
Postcode(s)	2337
Elevation	216 m (709 ft)
Location	271 km (168 mi) N of Sydney 153 km (95 mi) NW of Newcastle 27 km (17 mi) N of Muswellbrook 40 km (25 mi) S of Murrurundi 131 km (81 mi) S of Tamworth
LGA(s)	Upper Hunter Shire
State electorate(s)	Upper Hunter
Federal Division(s)	New England
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.6 °C 76 °F 10.1 °C 50 °F 612.0 mm 24.1 in

Scone (/skoʊn/) is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. In 2021, about 5,013 people lived there.

Scone is located on the New England Highway, north of Muswellbrook. It is about 270 kilometres (167.77 miles) north of Sydney. The town is part of the New England (federal) and Upper Hunter (state) areas. Scone is well-known for its farming and for breeding Thoroughbred racehorses. It is often called the "Horse Capital of Australia."

History of Scone

St Luke's Anglican Church, Scone, NSW

The first European person known to explore the Scone area was Allan Cunningham in 1823. He traveled through the Upper Dartbrook and Murrurundi regions. Surveyor Henry Dangar also explored the area in 1824 before crossing the Liverpool Range.

The first large farms, called properties, in the area were Invermein and Segenhoe, established in 1825. The town began as a small village called Redbank in 1826. In 1831, Hugh Cameron, who was of Scottish heritage, suggested the name Scone. The town was officially named Scone in 1837. In its early days, Scone was famous for its very large farms, including Belltrees and Segenhoe. Some of the first buildings included St Luke's Church, the Scone Post Office, the Old Court Theatre, and the St Aubins' Inn.

In 2004, Scone Shire joined with parts of the former Murrurundi and Merriwa shires to form the Upper Hunter Shire.

Scone's Horse Festival and Events

The annual Scone Horse Festival celebrates the town's strong connection to horses. It takes place every May and includes many fun activities. These activities include wine tours, open days at horse studs (places where horses are bred), the Scone rodeo, and the Scone School Horse Sports competition. There is also a Black Tie Ball and a parade down Kelly Street.

The main event of the festival is a horse racing carnival. This carnival features the important Scone Cup, which is one of the richest country horse races in New South Wales and Australia. Smaller celebrations are also a big part of the festival. Schools, businesses, public events, and sports centers all take part. The Horse Festival is also connected to events like the Belltrees poetry competition and "yarns night," where people tell stories. Scone also hosts the Inglis Guineas Day, another major race event, in mid-May.

The town is home to some very old pony clubs and has a lively polo club. Besides horses, the region is also known for its dairies (places that produce milk and cheese) and wineries.

Historic Places in Scone

Scone has several places that are listed for their historical importance. These include:

• 144 Kelly Street: Scone Civic Theatre
• 41 Kingdon Road: Old Court Theatre
• 117 Liverpool Street: Scone Post Office
• Main Northern railway: Scone railway station

Belltrees Country House

Belltrees Country House is a historic property located on Gundy Road. It is a large farm that covers 23,000 acres. In 1830, Hamilton Sempill was given this land and named it Belltree. Later, explorer W. C. Wentworth owned it. In 1853, Wentworth sold the property to the sons of John White. The main house was designed by J. W. Pender for Henry Luke White in 1906. By 1912, the property was 160,000 acres, with 3,200 kilometres of fencing and 64 buildings.

Today, the property has a homestead built in 1908 and St James Chapel from 1887. The original homestead is now a museum. There is also a trading store from 1837, which is now an office, an 1880 shearing shed, and a primary school. The famous writer Patrick White used Belltrees as inspiration for his novel The Eye of the Storm (1973). In 1994, the property was used as the setting for the film A Matter of Honour.

St Aubin's Arms

In 1836, Thomas and Henry Dangar rented 6 acres of land at St Aubin's Village. They leased it from Captain William Dumaresq. A pub was built there in 1837, located at 245 Kelly Street. It was first called "The Bird in Hand" and was owned by James Briggs until 1838. The pub had seven rooms with attics, a small paddock, and a stockyard.

In 1838, George Chivers owned the pub. In 1840, a group of robbers known as the Jewboy gang robbed the pub. In 1842, John P. Wilkie bought the property and renamed it the White Swan Inn. A house was built on the property in 1888. In 1917, it was put up for sale but did not sell because of World War I. The house was finally bought in 1938. The property sits on 4 acres of land. It is a brick building with high ceilings, wide verandahs, cedar woodwork, and an underground cellar. An extra wing was added in the 1960s. The property now has five bedrooms, a library, and living and dining areas.

Turanville Estate

William Dangar bought 800 acres of land and was allowed to buy another 1800 acres next to it. Turanville Estate became very famous for horse-breeding. It produced racehorses and horses for the Indian Army, attracting buyers from all over the world. The main buildings were built in the early 1870s and had 12 rooms and offices.

In 1888, a telephone line was installed to connect Turanville to Scone. This was the first time a property in Scone had a telephone connection. Thomas Cook started working on the property in 1854. In 1889, he inherited the property from his uncle, William Dangar. After Cook inherited it, the property grew to about 10,000 acres. He also built a new homestead and gardens. In the 1900s, a new roof made of iron with a front porch was added, replacing the old shingled one.

In 1912, the property was sold to Hugh Corbett Taylor. His great-grandson still lives on the property today. In 1938, Helen Ethel Moore and Douglas Hamilton Robertson took over the property. In 1946, a renovation happened. This included taking down the separate kitchen building and adding a southern wing to the house. In 1963, Jock Douglas Robertson and his wife Elizabeth took over running the property. Since 2003, Douglas Hugh Robertson and his wife Nicola have been running Turanville Estate.

Education in Scone

One of the first learning groups in New South Wales was The Scone Book Society, started in 1841. This group later became the Scone School of Arts. It was a Mechanics' Institute and library, located in buildings on Kingdon Street (1873–1917) and Kelly Street (1924–1954).

Today, Scone has several schools:

• Scone Public School
• Scone High School
• St Mary's Scone
• Scone Grammar School

There is also a campus of TAFE NSW, which offers vocational education and training.

Getting Around Scone (Transport)

Scone is located on the Main North railway line. There is a passenger train service that runs daily to Sydney. There are also two or three NSW TrainLink services to Newcastle.

The town is connected to nearby Gloucester by Scone Road. This road goes through the Barrington Tops area.

Scone Airport (YSCO) is about 3.5 kilometres northwest of the town centre. The airport has a 1404-meter asphalt runway. It is home to an aeroclub, a flight school, and a collection of old warplanes called Hunter Warbirds. However, it does not currently have any regular airline flights.

Osborn’s Buses runs a bus service between Scone and Muswellbrook. There are about 20 bus services each week in both directions.

Scone's Climate

Scone has a humid subtropical climate. This means it has hot, somewhat wet summers and mild, somewhat dry winters with cool nights. The average highest temperature in January is about 31.8°C, and in July it is about 16.7°C. The average lowest temperature in January is about 17.2°C, and in July it is about 3.3°C.

The town gets a moderate amount of rain each year, averaging 612.0 mm. Rain falls on about 75.9 days per year. It rains less often in winter than in summer. This is because of something called the foehn effect. Scone is on the side of the Great Dividing Range that is sheltered from the wind. The town has about 105 clear days and 57 cloudy days each year. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 46.5°C on 12 February 2017. The coldest was -5.5°C on 20 July 2023.

Sports and Recreation in Scone

The Scone Polo Club was started in 1891. Polo is a team sport played on horseback.

Images for kids

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  Mare and foal, Scone

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  St Luke's Anglican Church, Scone, NSW